Carrying and storage case for reel of film or the like



1965 R. R. HOLLINGSWORTH 3,169,682

CARRYING AND STQRAGE CASE FOR REEL OF FILM OR THE LIKE Filed June 21, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. 2055:? Rf/au/A/aswaenr 1965 R. R. HOLLINGSWORTH 3,169,532

CARRYING AND STQRAGE CASE FOR REEL OF FILM OR THE LIKE Filed June 21, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 201587 P, flan/41611147197 Maud.

I 7' TOP/Vi I" 7, 3,169,582 Patented Feb. 16, 1965 ice 3,169,682 CARRYlNG AND STORAGE CASE FOR REEL F FILM OR THE LIKE Robert R. Holling'sworth, Hollywood, Calif., assignor to Probe and Develop, Inc., Palo Alto, Calif.

Filed June 21, 1963, Ser. No. 289,589 4 Claims. (Cl. 224-45) This invention relates to a carrying and storage case that is particularly adapted for use in carrying or storing a reel of movie film or like article.

Heretofore it has been customary to store reels of movie film in cylindrical metal cans and to provide generally rectangular fiber cases for receiving the cans when it is desired to ship them. A typical prior art shipping case generally includes a pair of straps or belts which encircle the case and are provided with buckles to secure the case during shipment.

The main function of a film can is to protect the reel of film against damage from various sources. In view of the fact that film is frequently shipped from one exhibitor to another, it is apparent that the use of both a can and a shipping case results in a duplication which considerably increases the weight involved and therefore the cost of transportation, especially when air mail or air freight is used, which is frequently the case.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a combination storage and shipping case forsfilm and the like and which combination case is considerably lighter in weight than the combined weight of the cans.

and shipping cases heretofore employed.-

Another object of the invention is to provide a strong, light weight plastic storage and shipping case which adequately protects the contents thereof and at the same time has no projecting straps, buckles or other encumbrances which make handling difiicult. v

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a carrying case for film and the like which is generally square in peripheral contour and which is provided with hand openings at each corner thereof to facilitate carrying and handling. In this connection it will be understood that motion picture companies are required to store and handle thousands of reels of film, and it is desirable that the labor of handling thesa rne be reduced to a minimum. By the present invention the film cases are readily grasped by a person regardless of the particular orientation of the cases and whether cases are disposed in vertically or horizontally extending stacks;

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of an inexpensive watertight and airtight case for film which increases the life of the film contained therein and which efiectively guards the film against all hazards including foreign matter and moisture.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following specification and from the drawings where- FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a case made in accordance with the invention and showing the same being carried by a person.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the case portion of the carrying case.

FIG, 3 is a plan view of the cover.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the case portion and cover in their open position angularly offset from their closed position.

FIG. 5 is a section through a corner of a closed case,

as taken in a plane indicated by lines 55 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a typical section through a locking joint as taken in a plane indicated by lines 66 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a section through the locking device as taken in a plane indicated by lines 77 of FIG; 1.

FIG. 8 is a perspective showing a plurality of cases in a horizontally extending rack.

The case comprises a case portion generally designated 1 (FIG. 2) and a cover generally designated 2 (FIG. 3). The case portion comprises a sidewall 3 of generally square contour except that each of the four corners is rounded to a fairly large radius as indicated at 4.

The space that is adapted to receive the cylindrical reel is defined by an inwardly projecting circular flange 5 molded integrally to the sidewall 3. As best seen in FIG. 6, the reel of film 6 is snugly received in the cylindrical space formed by flange 5 and an elongated boss 7 is provided on the sidewall 3 at its exact center to be re ceived in the central aperture8 of the film reel. A corresponding boss 9 is formed inte ral with cover 2 and in registration with boss 7 on case portion 1 so as to provide, not only a support for reel 6, but also to prevent inward diaphragming of the case portion and eover due to external forces.

Radially outwardly of flange 5 is another flange 12 which is disposed tangentially to the side edges of case portion 1 and is provided at spaced points along its circumferential extent with radially inwardly projecting lips 13 which are adapted to cooperate with complementan'ly formed radially outwardly projecting lips 14 on circular flange 15 formed on cover 2. Cover 2 includes a sidewall 16 substantially identical in shape to square sidewall 3 of case portion 1, and circular flange 15 is integrally formed with said sidewall and is received radially outwardly of flange 5 on case portion 1 when the case portion and cover are assembled.

It will be seen from FIGS. 2, 3 that four equally spaced apart lips 13 are formed on case portion 1 and similarly four equally spaced apart lips 14 are formed on cover 2 to efiect a bayonet type joint. Said lips are of course provided with a circumferentially extending taper as seen in FIG. 5 so as to tightenthe ease portion'and cover on each other as they are relatively rotated to closed position.

' The design of dies in which to mold the case portion and cover is simplified by. the provision of arcuateslots 10 on sidewall 3 of cover portion 1 and arcuate slots 11 on sidewall 16 of cover 2. These slots 14 11 register with the lips 13, 14 which form the bayonet type joints so that a die insert may be provided through said slots to form the space under the lips.

Secured to the inner face of sidewall 16 of cover 2 is,

At each of the four corners of the case portion 1 the 7 same is provided with pairs of ribs 20, 21 which combine with the sidewall 3 of portion 1 to provide inwardly opening channels 22 (FIG. 5). Similarly the cover 2 is provided with ribs 24, 25 .at each of its four corners to form channels 26. Channels 22, 26 are brought into registiation as shown in FIG. 5 when the case is closed to provide a husky handle section. The sidewalls, 3, 16 of case portion 1 and cover 2 are formed at each corner with openings 28, 29 respectively adapted to receive a persons hand therethrough so that the case, in closed position, may be carried by any one of its four corners as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The thickness of the carrying case is reduced at each of its four corners by reducing the thickness of the ribs,

20, 21, 24, 25 at the tapered portions indicated at 30, 31 in FIG. 5. No loss of strength is involved here; in fact, the channel-shaped construction at the corners of each case part strengthens the case at the corners which would otherwise be vulnerable to injury from rough handling and dropping.

It will also be noted that the parts, when assembled, provide a smooth handle portion formed by the channel construction as seen in FIG. 5.

When it is desired to assemble the case the reel 6 containing the film is placed within case portion 1 with the central boss 7 received in aperture 8 of the reel. The cover is then placed over the case in a position angularly offset about 45 from the closed position, as seen in FIG. 4, so that lips 14 of the cover pass beyond the lips 13 of the case portion. The cover and case are then turned relatively so as to bring them into registration as seen in FIG. 1. In this latter closed position the friction between the lips 13, 14 and the engagement of flange with gasket 18 provide sufficient resistance against accidental opening movement of the case. A firm rotational eifort is then required to reverse the relative rotation in order to open the case.

Because of the above mentioned frictional resistance to accidental opening of the case, it is, in most instances, unnecessary to provide any additional locking means to hold the case in closed position. However, if additional holding means is required, it may be provided as shown in FIG. 7.

To provide the locking means a boss 33 is formed adjacent one of the corner hand openings of the case portion 1. This boss may be formed as a lateral continuation of the inner rib 21 of the case as shown in FIG. 1. As best seen in FIG. 7 a shallow slot 34 is formed on the outer side of case portion 1 to receive an elongated roundended tab 35 (FIGS. 1, 2) which projects slightly over the adjacent hand opening 28. The opposite inner side of the case portion 1 is formed with a relatively long cylindrical bore 36 which is separated from slot 34 by a restricted annular flange 37.

Only one boss 33 is provided on case portion 1. However, to permit the locking device to be operated regardless of the position in which the parts are assembled, a hole 39 in a boss 40 is provided at each corner of the cover so that, in any closed position the locking device can be operated.

The locking device comprises a stem 42 rigidly secured at one end to tab 35 and at its other end to a disk 43 which may be of the same plastic used to form the case and which may be adherently secured to the inner end 'of stem 42 so that the stem, tab and disk move as an integral piece. A compression spring 44 encircling stem 42 and interposed between flange 37 and disk 43 serves to urge the disk 43 to the position shown in FIG. 7. In this position the disk 43 is disposed on the separation line between the case portion and the cover thereby effectively preventing relative rotation.

When it is desired to open the case it is merely necessary to pull outwardly on the tab 35 and rotate it so that it lies on the outer side of the case. The disk 43 is then free from the case cover. When it is desired to lock the case, the tab 35 is turned so as to be received in slot 34 in which position the spring 44 projects the disk to the locked position of FIG. 7. To facilitate opening the case the juncture 30 adjacent tab 35 may be slanted up wardly and away from stem 42 so that a camming surface is provided causing the locking device to be cammed outwardly against the force of spring 44 as the tab is rotated in a counterclockwise direction (FIG. 1).

It will be apparent that a case constructed as above described lends itself to inexpensive molded construction of tough polymer such as, for example, Cyclolac. Furthermore, all functions heretofore performed by a film can and a film case are performed by one container.

The case may be mailed or shipped without any additional wrappings, straps or seals, and, if desired, a rectangular recess 46 about .020" deep may be provided on the outer side of the cover for receiving a mailing or shipping label thereon.

Cases made in accordance with the invention may be readily stacked in any convenient manner such as in a horizontally extending stack as shown in FIG. 8 wherein horizontally spaced separations 48 may be employed to space adjacent cases apart. Stacking in vertically spaced stacks is also readily accomplished with the same easy accessibility.

Another method of storing and handling cases of the present invention is to pass a rod through corresponding hand holes of the cases and hanga plurality of cases from such rod.

The present invention also contemplates merely the provision of depressions at the corners in lieu of through openings to permit grasping and carrying the case. When no openings are provided that are sufliciently large to receive a persons hand therethrough, a relatively small hole sufficiently large to receive a rod therethrough may nevertheless be provided to permit cases to be suspended from a rod or the like.

It should be understood that the above very detailed description of the preferred form of the invention should not be taken as restrictive thereof since various minor changes in design will occur to those skilled in the art Without departing from the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with an article such as a reel of movie film having a central aperture, a carrying case for such article comprising:

a case portion including a side of generally square peripheral contour and an integral circular flange at right angles to said side defining a central cylindrical space receiving said article therein,

a cover of substantially the same generally square peripheral contour as said case portion and connected to said case portion in a closed position with the corners of said cover in registration with the corners of said case thereby forming a carrying case of substantially square contour,

bayonet type peripherally extending interengaging elements on said case portion and said cover respectively connecting them together in said closed position,

said interengaging elements being closely adjacent but radially outwardly of said flange,

a hand opening formed at each of the four corners of said case portion and said cover with the openings in said corners of said case portion and said cover in registration when said case portion and cover are in closed position,

the outer diameter of the periphery of said interengaging elements being substantially equal to but less than the length of one'side of the square defining the contour of said case and said hand openings being formed in the generally triangular shaped corners that are radially outwardly of said periphery.

2. A case according to claim 1 wherein the thickness of said corners is reduced compared to the thickness of the remainder of the case to facilitate grasping one of the corners to remove the case from a stack of similar cases.

3. A case according to claim 1 wherein said bayonet type interengaging elements extend circumferentially for substantially one eighth the periphery of said space and being separable when said case portion and cover are rotated relatively through from said closed position.

4. A case according to claim 1 wherein said case por- 2,600,703 tion and said cover each are provided with an axially in- 2,785,797 wardly projecting integral pin extending toward each 3,072,280 other when said case is in said closed position. 3,077,281

r 5 7 References Cited by the Examiner V UNITED STATES PATENTS 52 23; 2,271,943 2/42 Klein et a1 220-40 547,971 2,452,230 10/48 Derham 22040 2,481,095 9/49 Essman.

Strom 22040 Rice 2O6-62 Spadaro. 'Braverman.

FOREIGN PATENTS 10 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION WITH AN ARTICLE SUCH AS A REEL OF MOVIE FILM HAVING A CENTRAL APERTURE, A CARRYING CASE FOR SUCH ARTICLE COMPRISING: A CASE PORTION INCLUDING A SIDE OF GENERALLY SQUARE PERIPHERAL CONTOUR AND AN INTEGRAL CIRCULAR FLANGE AT RIGHT ANGLES TO SAID SIDE DEFINING A CENTRAL CYLINDRICAL SPACE RECEIVING SAID ARTICLE THEREIN, A COVER OF SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME GENERALLY SQUARE PERIPHERAL CONTOUR AS SAID CASE PORTION AND CONNECTED TO SAID CASE PORTION IN A CLOSED POSITION WITH THE CORNERS OF SAID COVER IN REGISTRATION WITH THE CORNERS OF SAID CASE THEREBY FORMING A CARRYING CASE OF SUBSTANTIALLY SQUARE CONTOUR, BAYONET TYPE PERIPHERALLY EXTENDING INTERENGAGING ELEMENTS ON SAID CASE PORTION AND SAID COVER RESPECTIVELY CONNECTING THEM TOGETHER IN SAID CLOSED POSITION, SAID INTERENGAGING ELEMENTS BEING CLOSELY ADJACENT BUT RADIALLY OUTWARDLY OF SAID FLANGE, 